Elks’ Martin earns first-team honors

Whether on the football field or the basketball court, Burleson’s Sam Martin is a player to be watched.

The coaches in District 5-5A recognized Martin’s gridiron abilities recently when the senior safety was named a first-team member of the All-District team.

Martin was a first-team selection last season in District 9-5A and earned all-state honors a year ago.

“First off, he’s really good,” Burleson coach Gary McElroy said. “He’s an impact player on the defensive side of the ball. He’s someone that you have to account for at all times. He made plays consistently.”

McElroy said when opposing coaches were putting together their game plans for Burleson, they had to know where Martin was on the field.

Martin finished third on the team with 70 tackles. He also broke up three passes, had a tackle for a loss and one interception.

The senior was also the Elks’ lone first-team selection.

McElroy said he was disappointed to have just one first-team player but he added: “in a nine-team district instead of an eight-team district and that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Looking back on the season, McElroy said a few plays separated the Elks from a playoff berth. Burleson posted a 4-4 record in the district play and went 6-4 overall.

“We lost two district games that we certainly shouldn’t have in the fourth quarter,” McElroy said. “It just boils down to us not being able to finish when we needed too. I think that having an open week, week nine, played a part in that. I think we got worn down and beat up a little bit and that hurt us down the stretch.”

The Elks, who opened the season with a five-game winning streak, finished strong defeating Cleburne, 53-20, in their season finale.